My Side of the Story: Aztec Sea Beast
by Fegerrific
Summary: I once had it all: Fame. Fortune. A cover photo for Sports Illustrated. But thanks to my own greed, and a run-in with four sleuths and their dog, I lost it all. This is my story...
1. Desperate Times

**Fame is fleeting. But prison records are forever. You've probably read the headlines: 'Disgraced Diver' 'Caged Tiger' and the like. And, like so many others, you're probably wondering what would drive someone as rich and successful as I was to turn to a life of crime. Well, I suppose I'd better start at the beginning, that fateful day I met with my agent…**

"I'm sorry, Tiger," the weaselly-looking man said in a voice that didn't sound sorry at all. "You're a has-been. A washed-up, worn out, old has-been. I'm just telling you as a friend."

"Some friend," Tiger muttered under his breath.

"I heard that," the man snapped. "So that's why I'm refusing to renew your contract this year."

The diver leaped to his feet in anger and shock. "B-but y-you can't do that! I'll be penniless."

The man shrugged. "Tell you what. I can get you one last gig. Next month. A 'last hurrah' of sorts. You pay your way there and I'll do the rest."

"Where at?" Tiger asked suspiciously, expecting some flea-bitten charity event.

"Acapulco. A cliff diving competition. I'll handle the entry fee and you're on your own after that. Deal?"

Tiger reluctantly shook his agent's hand. "Deal."

The agent gathered up his papers and briefcase. "Alright, I gotta go. I'm going to sign that Phelps kid in an hour. He's going places, that one."

Tiger muttered furiously under his breath before taking his leave as well.

**So that's how it all began. Two weeks before the competition, I flew to Acapulco to practice. The prize money was next-to-nothing, but I wanted to win. I hoped that winning would catapult me to fame again, but instead I found something that changed my life forever…**

Tiger stared out the window at the ever-nearing glimmering city of Acapulco. With a teeth-rattling thump, the airplane landed on the runway and skidded to the airport. The diver flipped his SkyMall shut and gathered his luggage before striding out into the airport.

"I remember when I would be mobbed by fans just being in a building," he muttered darkly, walking towards the airport exit. "I'd like to be asked to sign an autograph, one last time. He was right, I am a has-been." Before he sank too deeply into self-pity, the diver walked out of the airport. Blinking in the blinding sun, he hailed a cab to his hotel and collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, Tiger slipped on his swimsuit and a gaudy Hawaiian shirt and headed out to the famous cliffs of Acapulco to practice. The diver toed the edge of the cliff and stared down the sheer rock face with trepidation. Forgetting his anxiety, he leaped gracefully off the edge and plummeted down, meeting the water with barely a splash. The diver sank to the bottom of the cove, opening his eyes to see if he was still alive. Out of the corner of his vision, Tiger noticed a dark shape on the ocean floor. Although his lungs were burning for a breath of air, Tiger swam over to check out the shape.

"A sunken galleon!" he thought to himself. "It must be loaded with treasure." As he moved his powerful body towards the galleon, he found himself being pulled by a current. Tiger muttered a string of curses as he was drawn inexorably through the water. He prayed that he wouldn't get smashed against the dangerous rocks that littered the cove.

Suddenly, he could breathe again! The current had deposited him inside a small cave in the cliff face. "What a find!" he whispered to himself. "And no one knows about it but me!"

**Of course, it wasn't quite that easy. I had to find a way to keep the locals and the nosy **_**policia **_**from figuring out what I was up to. What better way than to masquerade as a terrifying monster? **

Tiger sat at the desk in his room and booted up his laptop. Opening up a search engine, he tapped some keys. Almost instantly, pages and pages popped up. "Hmmm…" he murmured to himself. "Ghost of Cotezuma? Looks silly…and not quite in the right location. El Chupacabra? The Mexican Bigfoot?! Er…no way! AHA! The Sea Beast of the Aztecs…an ancient sea monster rumored to haunt the Acapulco coves! That's it!" With a sly smile, he grabbed the hotel's complimentary notepad and pen and began to scribble down some notes.

That afternoon, armed with a Spanish phrasebook and his notes, Tiger set out on the streets of Acapulco to cobble together an Aztec Sea Beast costume that would terrify all who came near the cove.


	2. You Meddling Kids

**It's amazing what you can do with a wetsuit, a cheap Halloween costume and a little ingenuity! Dressed to scare, I began to harvest the jewels from the abalone shells. After obtaining a sizeable amount, I went to a local jeweler and had it appraised. The value of the pieces: over half a million dollars! And I had barely begun collecting all the loot!**

**I managed to scare all the local fishermen and nosy tourists away. But as the day of the diving contest grew nearer, I began to worry that the divers would find out about my treasure and try to take it. I hatched a plan…**

A Hispanic man in a white suit took a microphone and began speaking in rapid-fire Spanish, followed by an equally rapid-fire English translation. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to today's diving competition!" Cheers, whoops and hollers followed this announcement. "The divers will now draw for position!"

Holding up a hand for silence, the announcer turned to the assembled divers. He held out a clear glass fishbowl, filled to the brim with numbered buttons, to the first diver.

Tiger raced forward toward the announcer. "Wait! Am I too late?" he panted in mock worry.

"Tiger Morris!" the announcer exclaimed in shock.

"My plane was late getting to Acapulco. I was afraid I would miss the contest," Tiger lied, pretending to be out of breath.

"We just started, Señor," the announcer assured him. Holding up the fishbowl, he gestured to its contents. "You may draw the first number."

"I only hope it's a high one," Tiger said, reaching his hand into the fishbowl. He opened his hand slightly; letting the button he had palmed slip down into his grasp. "I could use a little time to catch my breath."

"NUMBER ONE!" the announcer roared.

Tiger grimaced in false irritation. "Just my luck." He pulled off his shirt and pinned the button to his swimsuit. Toeing the edge of the cliff, he gracefully leaped off, entering the water with barely a splash. The audience cheered wildly.

As the second contestant walked forward to the cliff, Tiger emerged from the water, panic etched on his face. "HELP!" he shouted in fear. "Someone HELP! There's something down here! Something terrible! STAY AW¬" his shouts were cut off as he dove back under the water. Quickly, Tiger sank to the bottom of the cove and scrambled into his costume. He then resurfaced, roaring and snarling as the Sea Beast! The spectators and divers panicked and raced away, leaving the cove deserted. Tiger snickered to himself as he watched everyone run away like scared rabbits.

**In the face of this victory, everything started to unravel. A group of American sleuths weren't frightened off by my brilliant costume and started to investigate, so I tried to…dissuade them as much as possible. **

A lanky teenager and a Great Dane ambled through the sea cave. Tiger gasped in horror as he realized how close they were getting to his operation. He scrambled into his costume, snuck up behind them and roared frightfully.

"Like, ZOINKS!" the teen shrieked as he and his pet raced away. Tiger laughed at their cowardice and gave chase. Suddenly, the duo slammed into three other running shapes. The costumed diver continued to roar and hiss as the group dashed away in fear. With a private smile and triumphant laugh, Tiger left the group to run away like all the others and returned to his task.

**Imagine my surprise when I found that teen and his giant dog lounging in my private cave, opening up MY shells and taking MY treasure. I quickly scared them off, watching them clamber up the cliff face with the rest of their cowardly friends. But I was worried – they had some of my treasure! I followed them to the main strip, hoping to get rid of them once and for all...**

"Let's get to the harbor patrol office!" the bespectacled girl exclaimed.

'Harbor Patrol?! NO!' Tiger thought in a panic. He raced towards them with a roar, causing them to run away in fear. They hijacked a parasailing boat and tried to drive away. Tiger grabbed onto the parasail, intent on getting rid of the kids and their meddling ways. But the blond young man managed to get the parasail caught on a yacht mast, causing the attached rope to wrap itself tightly around the costumed diver.

**I realized I was caught; there was no wiggling my way out of this one. Those meddlesome sleuths carefully disassembled my ingenious plan before unmasking me and turning me over to the Acapulco Harbor Patrol to await trial.**

**Fortunately for me, the Harbor Patrol Chief cut a deal with the Mexican police to help me avoid hard time. Instead of an extended stay at the infamous Acapulco prison, I remained in the custody of the Harbor Patrol. Daily, I harvested the treasures from my former haunting grounds and turned them over to the Mexican National History Museum. **

**It took three years before I finally collected all the treasures and was released. With the help of Chief Valdez, I applied to become a diver searching for sunken artifacts. ****My first assignment was in Greece and...well, that's another story... **


End file.
